Last month's two deadly officer involved shootings in Salinas have fueled tension in the city between the police department and the community. Coincidentally - perhaps ironically - the shootings occurred just days after Police Chief Kelly McMillin announced that his department is adopting new styles of policing aimed at improving how people throughout the community perceive police. That's why we're surprised at the city's refusal to release the names of the four police officers involved in the May 9th and May 20th shootings. As you may be aware, KSBW, along with other local media, made California Public Records Act requests that those names be released. Our requests were denied. The city cites threats made against the officers as the reason for denying the requests. We agree that threats can be serious matters, but they must be weighed as to whether or not they are general, perceived threats - such as graffiti or social media posts - or specific, credible threats. The fact is, neither the city attorney nor the police chief has delineated the nature of the claimed threats. We at KSBW believe the community's right to know the names of these officers trumps any concerns over perceived threats. It's a position supported by California's Supreme Court in a ruling barely two weeks ago regarding a similar question involving Long Beach police officers. The court wrote: "The public's interest in the conduct of its peace officers is particularly great and the balance tips strongly in favor of identity disclosure and against the personal privacy interests of the officers involved." We agree. Furthermore, we believe withholding the officers' names is counterproductive to the police department's own professed goals of bridging barriers between itself and the community. Law enforcement in other area communities have a more enlightened approach to such matters. The San Jose Police release the names of officers involved in shootings as a matter of policy. Earlier this month, the San Mateo County Sheriff's department released the name of a deputy just hours after the officer took the life of a non- compliant young woman in Half Moon Bay, mistakenly believing she was armed. The transparency defused the situation. And such would be the case, we believe, if Salinas police did the same. It would bolster public trust and lift the understandable perception that the department is operating behind some cloak of secrecy. With that in mind, KSBW is not letting the city's refusal to release the names be the end of this. We are reaching out to other local media to join us in pursuing further legal action that will compel the city to release all four officers' names. We'll keep you updated on our progress. , x T T